School starts next week and like a lot of parents, I see it with a mix of emotions, hopes and expectations. 

This year is special so I wanted to write a note about my daughter. 

If you see her in the classroom, I hope you will notice what a one-of-a kind  she is.  Every person at school is special and important but I am her mom and I  especially want her to have a really good year at school.

If you think that she is small for her age, I hope you won’t say that to her.  Instead I hope you notice what a huge heart she has and how that exceeds the size of the rest of her body parts.   Ask what her favorite books are or what songs she knows.  She knows a bazillion.

You might think that she looks too young to be there but she isn’t.  She’s excited and hopeful but also terrified and nervous.  So I hope you will see how eager and earnest she is in how she goes about her day.

If she looks lost in the hallway, I hope you will give her a big smile and see if she needs any help.  She is so brave that she wouldn’t ask for help even if she needed it.

She isn’t entirely sure what to wear to school each day.  She wants to be able to play and interact with the other children but also look nice on her first day and every other day of school.

Don’t be surprised if she is the first one there every day and the last one to leave.  She just wants for every day to be good.

If you know someone who needs a word of encouragement or help overcoming an obstacle, you should introduce them to my child.  She will always see a positive outcome and a creative way out of a rough circumstance.  She is protective, resilient and trustworthy.  She is wise but full of wonder.

To all mommies, daddies and parents who have that hopeful and yet cautiously terrified feeling  about this year, we share the same goals.  I wish the same for your child…..The reason this year is special is because my 22 year old daughter will be teaching 2nd grade for the first year.   It is a special person with a deep sense of love and desire that becomes a teacher.  This year one of those people is my child and my heart soars to think that of all the choices, she chose this.

( I am a Health Coach, Nutrition Speaker, and lover of all things food.  Mostly I write about health, auto-immunity, thyroid issues and weight loss.  I am also a cancer survivor and mom of three.  Today, taking care of my health meant writing about this)